Birmingham man jailed for girl's fire-bomb killing

Jabed Ali was arrested in April after spending more than four years as a fugitive

A man who admitted the manslaughter of a six-year-old girl who died after a fire at her Birmingham home has been jailed for eleven-and-a-half years.

Jabed Ali, 27, formerly of Stamford Road, Aston, Birmingham, fled to Bangladesh following the fire-bombing.

Alisha Begun died the day after the fire in Perry Barr in March 2006.

The motive was anger at a "clandestine" relationship between one of Alisha's brothers and the sister of a man who is still being sought, the court heard.

Ali is the second man to be jailed for the attack.

He denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson with intent to endanger life at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday.

The married father was arrested in April after spending more than four years as a fugitive.

Alisha, who was sleeping upstairs, died of toxic shock after being trapped in her home in Bayswater Road. Other family members escaped with relatively minor injuries.

Passing sentence, Judge William Davis, QC, said: "You barely knew those who were taking revenge on that family and yet you joined in with an enterprise in which you knew that bottles of petrol were to be used to fire-bomb a house.

"You, for no reason at all, joined in that wicked plan."

Alisha died in hospital after the fire

Mobile phone analysis, as well as fingerprint evidence, had linked the car body worker to the fire-bombing, the court heard.

Prosecutor Mark Wall, QC, told the court how men dressed in dark clothing forced their way into Alisha's home.

Threatening phone calls had been made before the fire.

Defence barrister Mukhtar Hussain said his client bitterly regretted his involvement in the child's death.

Ali did not know the deceased's family at all, the QC said, and had only met the man who is still at large through his work repairing cars.

In October 2006 an 18-year-old man was convicted of manslaughter and arson over Alisha's death.

Daryll Tuzzio, of Perry Barr, was jailed for eight years and was to spend half of that term on licence.

Tuzzio's co-defendant, Ahmed Hussain, 26, of Harborne, was acquitted of all charges.